Sunday, November 27, 2011

The Plot Thickens......................

The farther I get into my story, the more I question when my character's should start asking questions, and start looking for answers. They can dwindle along for only so long, before it becomes unrealistic. And considering I like to balance realism with myth I'm trying to walk that ever so thin line. Halfway through the story, right when the first big figurative skeleton is about to surface, my protagonist starts to realise that something is a miss. The bodies are starting to surface, her dreams are getting out of hand, and that edge of the rabbits hole is only one tiny step away.



My question is, is this believable?

I've read a lot of books, not as much as I would like, and not nearly enough to call myself an expert but often, when I really pay attention, and sometimes even when I don't, I can see where the story is going. Maybe it's just an uncanny ability to see between the lines, or maybe it's because I've read a lot of the same genre, and it's hard to be surprising all of the time. I'm not blaming the authors or the concept, because a lot of them are fantastic, and twisted, but when does it go from being easy to follow to surprising? Over the last few months, and well years, I've started to realise that writing is this strange balancing act, at least for me. And what I'm trying to do, write a story, create a world, is it possible that the analyst in me, the perfectionist is losing sight of the craft and just thinking about all of it too much.

Maybe that balancing act is supposed to be easier, maybe it's not supposed to be about balance at all. Other authors go through an entire first draft without editing, then when they are done with the story, the last t crossed and i dotted, they start the editing. I've never been able to do that. Every time I sit down at the desk I go over a few parts I've thought about for a couple of days, stewing really while I try to find that hitch in the gears that's keeping me from moving forward, and as soon as those pieces are right I move forward, I move on. But what is it about me as a writer that keeps me juggling all the pieces and thinking about the craft so much instead of just writing. A part of me thinks that I'd be so much better off being one of those writers that can go start to finish. And the other part, well the other part screams about fixing this, and changing that, and always wins out in the end.

Here I was planning on writing a blog about plot, and I start writing about the craft in general. No one ever said I had it all figured out. (insert obnoxious snort) Even after finishing The Wild Hunt, and a dozen more books, I don't think I ever will.

So here's to hoping those plot twists and story lines are enough to keep even the best detective guessing. Because in the end that's really all I'm shooting for, the hope that my story and characters will entertain you.

1 comment:

  1. Lol... sounds like you want to be the writer AND the editor! I get the same way most of the time.

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